The Tribune

THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) will spend another $60 millionplus to upgrade its land-line service in a bid to win back residential users and create the fastest Internet service in the country.
 Fresh off the heels of a $40 million-plus investment that netted an 800 per cent increase in data usage following transformation of its mobile network,
BTC’s chief executive said the company is spending another $60-plus million to upgrade landline service.

Geoff Houston told the ninth annual Abaco Business Outlook: “What we saw when we upgraded our mobile offerings was an almost insatiable appetite among Bahamians for the latest devices, the fastest downloads, the newest, the best.

“When we launched 4G (the fastest download speeds available worldwide) mobile voice traffic increased by 60 per cent. Mobile data was up by 800 per cent. Before we upgraded, 3 per cent of our sales were smart phones. Today, nearly half of all our phone sales are smart phones.”
 Using that as a benchmark, Mr Houston said that while the company would continue to focus attention on mobile offerings, employing the first Long Term Evolution (LTE) license in the country, it would invest multi-millions to create “the fastest
iInternet in the region”.
 “Six months ago, we were accessing the Internet with two gigabits of capacity and we were doing that through a link to Miami,” said Mr Houston. “It was like trying to suck an elephant through a straw. Today we are investing more than $60 million to build an infrastructure that will enable long-term development and handle growing demand, because the interesting thing is the faster the speed we provide, the more demand there is.

“The Next Generation Network will increase speed by as
much as four times, and when we are done there will be real competition in the Internet market, and we in the Bahamas will have the fastest Next
Generation Network in the entire region.”
 According to Mr Houston, the project is employing some 50 construction and technical workers at various sites, moving between islands. Among the tasks - replacing 20 year-old radio systems andm in some cases, 50 year-old underground cable.

“What we are doing is accomplishing in 18 months what under
normal circumstances would take four to five years to complete,” Mr Houston said. “When we are done, customers will enjoy a better overall experience with Internet and land-line service.”

The work includes excavation, ripping out old, antiquated massive cables and replacing them with fibre optic. On more than 50 occasions, work has been disrupted by heavy equipment connected with the road works project tearing up underground cable, causing crews to be diverted for rebuilding infrastructure and reconnecting service.

BTC’s vice-president of field operations, Carl Culmer, said work in Long Island is close to completion, with the last settlements between Clarence Town, Hamilton and Deadman’s Cay being connected to fibre optic cable.

San Salvador is nearly complete, with only stretches between Sandy Point and Cockburn Town, and Cockburn Town and United Estates, awaiting fibre optic cable. Teams are on the ground and work is slated for completion by month’s-end.
 Andros is nearing completion, and crews there hope to finish by the end of next week. In Abaco, work was completed in Man ‘o War Cay and Hope Town in March. Work continues in pockets of New Providence. Only Acklins presents a challenge, said Mr Culmer, because no provision was made for a fibre optic cable connection.
 “It’s exciting to see all the work going on and to be part of it,” he added.

“My team has a whole new energy. Some of them have to leave their families behind in Nassau for weeks at a time, but they have a great spirit and great attitude, and the competition is fierce to get the job done and to keep everything up and running. It’s really exciting times.”

BTC is also placing more access points around the Bahamas to ensure that customers have a faster Internet experience. Customers with a $29.99 Internet package will have their Internet speeds quadrupled to 4mg with no increase in cost. Users who are more inclined to stream movies and download video games might be interested in an 8mg package for an additional $10.